Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Toyota Boshoku Kabushiki Kaisha

Robert Christopher Day

Makoto Ito

Osamu Fujimoto

Vikas Bhatia

Vasudeva Sankarshana Murthy

Yoshihiro Ooishi

Tomohiro Muramatsu

Trevor J DeLanoy

Paxton Steven Williams

Hamshivraj Singh Dhamrat

Masroor Fahim

Daisuke Itoh

Michael Zielinski

Bill Deming

George Mike Chalhoub

Bryce M Wassa

A vehicle can include an A-pillar water management system. The system can include an inner body member of a vehicle. The system can include a channel member operatively connected to the inner body member. A channel can be defined at least partially by the channel member. The channel can open in a substantially vertically upward direction. The channel can have an open first end and a second end. The second end can be opposite the first end. The first end can be located closer to a front end of the vehicle than the second end. A seal, such as an A-pillar to front fender seal, can operatively engage the inner body member. The seal can extend in a substantially vertical direction. The channel can extend in a direction that is transverse to the seal. The channel can pass between the seal and the inner body member.

Water management for a vehicle

A vehicle bumper damage indication system is provided includes a damage indicator structured to be positionable in a space between a bumper of a vehicle and a body of the vehicle. The damage indicator is structured to be movable between a first configuration and a second configuration. An actuation mechanism is operatively coupled to the damage indicator and is structured to control movement of the damage indicator from the first configuration to the second configuration responsive to a predetermined amount of deflection of a portion of the bumper.

Vehicle bumper damage indication system

Embodiments of radiant barriers for vehicles are disclosed. According to one embodiment, a vehicle includes an interior cabin at least partially enclosed by a roof panel, a floor panel, and an engine compartment firewall, and a radiant barrier positioned within the interior cabin. The radiant barrier includes a first thermally reflective surface and a second thermally reflective surface opposite the first thermally reflective surface and separated from the first thermally reflective surface by a thickness t. The thickness t is constant along a length and a width of the radiant barrier. The radiant barrier at least partially thermally isolates the interior cabin from an external environment.

Radiant barrier for automotive vehicle

The present invention relates to a close out bracket for securing a seat mounting structure to a support rail in a floor of a vehicle. The bracket has a generally flat center portion that is rigidly engaged between the seat mounting structure and the support rail. The bracket also has a curved portion extending radially outward from the center portion. The curved portion has a generally inverted U shape and extends along the perimeter of the center portion. The bracket serves as a finish trim piece by closing out along the edge of the floor covering that was cut to expose the support rail below.

Close out bracket

Vehicles including collapsible cargo containers that collapse beneath tumble seats and methods of collapsing collapsible cargo containers beneath tumble seats are disclosed. A vehicle includes a vehicle floor, a tumble seat pivotably coupled to the vehicle floor, and a collapsible cargo container attached to the vehicle floor and attached to the tumble seat. The tumble seat is pivotable from a tumble-forward position to an upright seating position. When the tumble seat is pivoted from the tumble-forward position to the upright seating position, the collapsible cargo container collapses from a cargo storage configuration to a collapsed configuration beneath the tumble seat.

Vehicle including collapsible cargo container

A vehicle tip-up seat wherein the seat includes a seat back having a front surface, a seat portion having an upper surface and a lower surface. The seat portion is pivotally mounted to the seat back at a first pivot point. An elongated support member extends generally perpendicular to and spaced apart from the lower surface of the seat portion. The elongated support member is fixed to the lower surface of the seat portion. At least one support bracket extends between the elongated support member and the lower surface of the seat portion to support the seat in the event of a crash as seat portion rotates downward. The seat further includes a cushioning foam fully covering the support bracket, the seat portion and the elongated support member.

Tip-up seat with concealed support structure

A vehicle seat is taught that preferably include a seat cushion (), a seat back () rotatably connected to the seat cushion via a reclining mechanism (), front () and rear () legs removably connecting the seat cushion to a vehicle floor (), a retracting link (), an operating member capable of removing the front and rear legs from the floor, and a coupling link (). The seat back can be rotated forwardly by unlocking the reclining mechanism, so as to be superimposed on the seat cushion. When the front and rear legs are removed from the floor, the seat can be moved from a use condition to a retracted condition depending on the motion of the retracting link. When the seat is moved from the use condition to the retracted condition, the coupling link rotates the front leg based on a displacement of the retracting link, thereby unlocking the reclining mechanism.

Vehicle seat

An operating lever is provided at one of a front face, an upper face, and a back face of a seat including a seat cushion and a seat back. The operating lever may include a first lever having a first end and a second end, and a second lever having a first end and a second end. The second end of the first lever and the first end of the second lever may be pivotably connected to each other, and the first end of the first lever may be pivotably connected to the seat such that the first lever is configured to change an attitude of the seat. In addition, the second end of the second lever may be formed as an operating portion, and when the operating portion is operated in a direction away from the seat, the first lever and the second lever pivot may away from the seat and the attitude of the seat is adjusted.

Operating lever of vehicular seat

A dual action seat release mechanism for a seat on a vehicle includes a seat assembly having a vertically oriented seat back portion pivotally connected to a horizontally oriented seat cushion portion. A lever is pivotally attached to the seat assembly, and includes an elongated handle extending from a disc-shaped portion, and a center of the disc-shaped portion is pivotally attached to the seat assembly. A cable attachment means is disposed on the disc-shaped portion of the lever, and is positioned radially outboard from the center of the disc-shaped portion. A cable having a first end and a second end is provided and the first end of the cable is attached to the cable attachment means on the lever. A cable support bracket for fixedly supporting the cable is fixedly attached to the seat assembly. A cable routing bracket for routing the cable is fixedly attached to the seat assembly, and includes an elongated channel for receiving the cable. A seat back release mechanism for unlocking the seat back from the seat cushion portion of the seat is provided, and a second end of the cable is operatively attached to the seat back release mechanism, such that rotation of the lever in a first direction releases the seat back release mechanism for rotation of the seat back in the first direction of rotation, and rotation of the lever in a second direction releases the seat back release mechanism for rotation of the seat back in the second direction of rotation.

Dual action seat release mechanism

A vehicle seat assembly includes a seat cushion and a seat back. The seat back is pivotally coupled to the seat cushion for movement between a generally upright seating position and a folded flat position overlying the seat cushion. The seat back has a front seating surface and an opposite back surface. The back surface has a console with at least one compartment with a hinged lid for storing objects therein.

Seat assembly having integrated belt, storage compartments and registers

A vehicle includes a seat assembly for supporting an occupant above a floor and an adjustment mechanism providing generally horizontal movement of the seat assembly relative to the floor and substantially vertical movement of the seat assembly through an opening in the floor between a use position extending above the floor and a stowed position disposed in a storage space beneath the floor.

Sliding and stowing motor vehicle seat

A seat assembly movable in both longitudinal and transverse directions in an automotive vehicle. The seat assembly includes a seat cushion and an adjuster mechanism. The seat cushion has an upper surface for supporting a seated occupant above a floor of an automotive vehicle and an opposite bottom surface. The adjuster mechanism is coupled to the bottom surface of the seat cushion. The adjuster mechanism includes a set of first wheels that allows movement of the seat assembly in a longitudinal direction along tracks on the floor of the vehicle. The adjuster mechanism further includes a set of second wheels that are arranged generally orthogonal to the first wheels to allow movement of the seat assembly in a transverse direction across the tracks and the floor of the vehicle.

Growing community of inventors

Whitmore Lake, MI, United States of America

Robert Christopher Day